


The Sanctuary Inn

by knoxhannes



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Secret Santa, so i don't want to spoil it im sorry, this is a gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21949888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knoxhannes/pseuds/knoxhannes
Summary: The first visit comes on a year where there’s a heavy snowfall.
Relationships: Roxas/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 23





	The Sanctuary Inn

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank Flaaf and Astrix for hosting this secret santa! It was so fun and I'd love to do it again next year!
> 
> Thank you Xen for beta-ing for me! Your approval means the world to me!
> 
> To Summer: I hope this fic suits you! You have been talking about angst for a while now so I thought I'd make that the theme here. 
> 
> Love you all!!!! Soroku Rockstars!!!!!!

The first visit comes on a year where there’s a heavy snowfall. 

  
  
  


Sandy askes Sora to get the King's suite ready, a guest is set to arrive by nightfall. 

Normally this wouldn’t be a hassle. But tonight is Christmas Eve! Sora was hoping that he could get off early and join Kairi in some caroling. He tells his friends to go ahead of him, this guest must be important.

At the stroke of midnight, the door creaks open. A man walks in with a white carpet of snow following behind. Sora rises from the front desk to greet this stranger. 

He’s breath-taking. The first thing Sora notices is that he’s a pirate. The second thing is that he’s obviously a captain. And the third is the glowing blue crystal hanging from his ear. But the only thing Sora really cares about are his ocean eyes. 

“I sent a letter requesting a room.” Even his voice shakes Sora to his core.

“Right this way. I’ve personally prepared the King Suite for your arrival.”

He leads the captain up the stairs of the inn, taking his bags with him. The suite is on the third floor, with no elevator to make their journey easier. Nevertheless, Sora wants to treat this man like the king he is.

When they arrive, everything is perfectly set. The bed is made, candles are lit to avoid a harsh light, and Sora made sure a plate of milk and cookies is set on the table. 

“You did all this?” the man asks. His smile is appreciative and he wanders the room.

Sora sets his heavy bags down by the bed. “I cleaned it and made the cookies. The rest is all Sandy.”

At the mention of sweets, the captain walks to the plate and takes one. “These are delicious. Thank you.”

Sora bows, and plucks up some courage. "Captain Roxas, can I ask a question?"

"You just did, but you can ask the one you intended too."

Sora bites his lip in embarrassment. "How did you come up here?"

The Captain takes his hat off and appears puzzled. "Can you elaborate on that?"

He straightens his back, looking him in the eye. The captain isn't so intimidating now that he doesn't appear taller than Sora. "How did you come up here? The ocean is frozen over near these parts."

The blonde smiles, no golden teeth visible. "Just faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust. I don't let those kind of obstacles get in my way when I need to be somewhere." 

"Why do you need to be here?"

He sighs, "It's late, Sora. Some other time?"

“R-right. I’m sorry. Sleep well, sir.”

  
  


The next day, Sora is back again, working his normal job in the kitchen. 

Jack is out shoveling snow, Kairi is out buying groceries, and Ven is seated at the front desk.

The problem with Christmas day is that the afternoon is a strange liminal space. In the morning you’re supposed to open presents. In the evening you sit with those special to you and eat dinner. But the time in between, you can only exist.

However, Sora’s mood doesn’t dampen. He works hard at creating the Christmas Feast for both the guests and staff. By lunch, He has a break to wait through due to his overzealous planning the day before.

He takes some hot chocolate and a chicken-salad sandwich to a table in the dining area, the one closest to the fireplace. He’s also brought a Margaret Atwood book to keep him entertained through this.

Midway through his chapter, someone emerges from the shadows. He looks up to see none other than Captain Roxas by his side.

“Would you mind if I sat with you?”

And he could leave, give the table to the guest like Ven would. Or he could politely say no (there are many seats available) to finish his book like he promised Kairi. Or, he could listen to his heart. And his heart always did start avalanches.

“Of course! It’s probably the warmest seat in the inn.”

“Thank you,” Roxas sits directly across from his. He too has a cup of hot chocolate. Sora puts away his book. He wants to listen to every word this man has to say.

“So, Sora. Tell me why you love this holiday so much.”

He puts his hand on his chin, thinking about how to phrase this feeling overflowing in heart.

"It's warm. Christmas is warm to me. The hot chocolate, the candlelight, and the fireplace. But the warmest part is the lively breath escaping someone's lips just before it turns into smoke."

Roxas smiles, bringing his hands up to Sora's. "Will you show me?" 

His blue eyes glisten with the blue sky that the clouds above obscure. Sora was never one to believe he could fly, but now he wishes his feet would lift off the ground.

He takes the Captain's hands and brings them to his lips, hoping to cover them with the embers of his heart.

  
  
  


The second year is a blessing for everyone involved

  
  
  


"I hear that pirate is arriving again!” Jack eagerly whispers in the kitchen. All of his coworkers know about his feelings for this captain. He was looking forward to him all year.

“He said he would come back, last year.” Sora reminds him. He hopes the poinsettias he left in the King Suite make Roxas happy. He can’t be there to greet him at the door this year.

“I’m just saying! Maybe he’s forgotten how to work the bed, and will need your help.” Jack winks. Sora laughs and pushes him away. 

And…that’s close to what happens. 

They both fall back onto the bed in the aftermath of making love. The fireplace keeps their bodies warm while the sweat cools their bodies. That was an adventure on its own.

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” Roxas asks. He must be one for pillowtalk.

Sora’s breath evens out. “I don’t know. Usually people come  _ here  _ to get away from anywhere else.”

Roxas turns over to face him, “I can understand why. This place feels magical.”

“Yeah,” Sora needs to think of something else to say. He wants this to last just a little bit longer. 

“But it’s not the only good place in the world. Have you heard of Venice?”

“No,” Sora turns to face him too. “What’s special about it?”

“It’s a city that’s surrounded by water.”

“Like a beach?”

“No, it goes right in. Here let me draw it.”

He takes out a little book from his bag and scribbles some buildings. In the negative space he makes some lines to portray the water’s reflection. His last addition is a bridge in the middle.    
  
“It sits on top of the water, and people use gondolas to get around. Makes it really easy for me to dock.”

“Is that the only thing special about it?” Sora laughs.

“No! I can’t exactly show you because I only have a pencil, but the houses are all connected and have different colors. There’s churches, bookshops, and the sunset! The sunset is my favorite part. It reflects off the water and it’s like you’re in another place entirely.”

“Hm,” Sora pretends to think about it, “You should take me sometime.”

Roxas’ eyes glisten with determination, “I promise I will.”

  
  


The third year...is silent.

  
  
  


There’s no word of anyone reserving the King Suite, not even on Christmas Eve. The cookies Sora planned to take up there are given to his friends instead.

He wonders what made the years before Roxas appeared so special. Why can’t he go back to feeling like that now? It’s just one year.

Isn’t it?

Ventus catches him as he’s boiling a pot of tea to help him sleep.

“I hear he’s got someone waiting for him there. In Venice. Someone important to him.”

“Yeah, well,” Sora’s chest puffs up with the steam escaping the kettle. “He’s got someone waiting for him at Sanctuary Inn here too. Me!”

“Sora…I think it’s someone he’s with. Romantically.”

Just as he’s about to tell Ventus just how wrong he is, the kettle whistles. He shuts it off and exhales all of his doubts away. He tries to, at least.

“I don’t want to talk about this with you. Go away.” 

The first part of heartbreak isn’t the anger, or pain. It’s the denial.

  
  
  


The fourth year feels as cold as the first.

  
  
  


Roxas appears, but he appears so tired. There’s no pleasantries, no apologies, as Ventus takes his things and escorts him to his room. Sora watches him calmly from the lounge room. The opportunities for explanation and defence are right there in the open.

Ventus comes back down alone. 

  
  


Sora is no stranger to hurt. He values it as a part of growing up and growing stronger. This pain should feel familiar. But it just feels hollow.

That night after dinner, he takes a walk to the beach in front of the inn. On his worst days he likes to sit on the sand, stare into the ocean, and wish he were somewhere else.

He feels rather than hears someone behind him. He doesn’t break his stare from the waves. The stranger sits next to him. Sora still doesn’t move. He lets the waves speak for him.

After it’s clear he won’t talk, Roxas speaks.

"I love you so much. Sora. Please believe me. I love you so much it hurts."

“What good is that? You love me but you won't stay with me? What good is your love when you won't let me feel it?"

Roxas raises a hand to his cheek, wiping something away. “Because I need to go back. I need to be there for him.”

Sora can feel an icicle fall and puncture him in the heart.

“You come here...and you make me fall in love with you. And you go back to someone else when you’re done with me?”

“It’s complicated-”

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare excuse yourself!” He jumps up. The hot tears streak down his face.

“Sora, please.” Roxas drops his knees into the sinking sand. “Please come back to me.”

Sora runs away.

  
  
  
  


The fifth year is too much for his poor heart. 

  
  


And Roxas does not come back again.

When Sora heard stories of people falling apart because of lost love, it was a concept too foreign to comprehend. This wasn't taught in a school. There was no correct way to right yourself again. Why didn't anyone ever look for happiness again?

Now he knows, and he prays to a God he doesn't even believe in to help him stop loving Roxas.

He hates the rich cocoa he prepares for guests in December. He hates lighting the candles for carolers in the snow. He hates hanging stockings on the lit fireplace. He hates breathing at all.

  
  
  
  


The sixth year is warm. But we can blame climate change for that one.

  
  
  


Sora doesn't remember his first kiss, but he knows it was claimed by the falling snow. Winter came and covered everything and everyone in his life. Sandy says it was a miracle he was alive at all. Most people freeze to death underneath a frozen lake.

At the time Sora questioned how someone would freeze before drowning. But the heaviness he’s felt in his throat all year hasn’t killed him yet. Sometimes it leaks out through his ocean eyes, 

Sandy notices that he is not in the mood for festivities, and calls him in to his office. 

“Come help me decorate my personal tree.”

It’s not a request. So he grudgingly walks over to the box sat beside the tree in the corner of the room. Sandy liked to collect odd ornaments, mostly ones that held memories. Every year a new ornament was added. None of them matched.

He dutifully arranges them, because he knows if he’s lazy he’ll be here all night. He pauses when he touches the blue crystal. It’s the one Roxas wore as his earring that first year. Sora tucks it away deep in the branches.

“Will you put the angel on the tree for me? I’ve forgotten where I’ve put that stepladder.”

Although the old man drinks so much milk, he’s still a short, fat, and happy geezer. Sora’s significantly taller than Sandy, able to reach the top of the tree with ease. 

The angel is a child’s doll. She’s blonde, in a white dress, with wings on her back. She keeps a smile on her face while her eyes stay closed. It saddens him a bit, he thinks eyes are the best way to get to know someone. Up the tree she goes.

“So. Will you let him go?” Sandy asks. 

“What am I supposed to do? Track him down? Make him stay with me?”

“Do you want to do that?”

Sora nearly throws a chair through the window. “No.”

“What do you want?”

Sora turns his attention back to the angel. Her arms are out gifting a comforting embrace. Sora regrets not hugging her back before he set her in her rightful place. Maybe she would have whispered what he should do.

“I want…to be with him. And for him to love me.”

“Doesn’t he?”

“He said so.”

“And you love him back?”

“Of course!” Sora turns around to speak more, but Sandy’s hand stops at his mouth.

“Then treasure the time you have together.”

  
  
  


Sora opens his eyes to a white Christmas.

The beeping machines are drowned out by the ringing in his ears. He’s not at home. He’s not in a place he ever thought he’d wake up in.

Beside his hospital bed, Sora sees the love of his life clutching his hand.

“Roxas?” The word comes out lower than he intended. His throat feels too dry to talk.

His husband flinches and looks up. His eyes are red and tired. “Sora? Sora are you awake?”

“Mmm.” he hums. “What happened?” 

Roxas gets up to call the doctor, and his hand feels turns to ice. He wants Roxas to come back and hold it again.

He returns with a woman, blonde hair curled on her shoulder. Her smile is angelic to say the least. And Sora realizes she looks just like the angel Sandy put on top of his tree in the inn.

“Good morning, Sora. I’m glad to see you’re all right. We weren’t sure if you would wake up.” She looks over his chart quickly before turning her attention back to him. “How are you feeling? Any pain?”

“Cold,” he complains, pointing to his still unheld hand. Roxas chokes down either a laugh or a sob and comes back to hold it.

“I’m going to ask you some basic questions and I want you to answer them as honestly as you can, ok? What’s your full name?”

“Sora Hart.“

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Who is this man beside you?”

“My husband Roxas.” Roxas squeezes his hand and kisses his knuckles.

“And who is the president of the United States?”

Sora’s face turns sour, “No one I voted for.”

The doctor laughs and nods to them both. “It sounds like your memory is fine. Do you remember what happened the night you ended up here?”

“Not really....” But just making eye contact with her brings the memories to the surface. “Wait. I-we had a fight.”

“Yes,” Sora looks back to Roxas. “We were fighting. And you- you slipped on the towel I left on the floor. Your head started bleeding. Baby I’m so sorry.”

Panic fills him. “Wait, how long ago was this?”

“Just a few hours ago.” Roxas sets his other hand on his chest to soothe him. 

“Doctor Namine!” A nurse calls from the hallway.

  
  


“Yes it’s just passed midnight now. It’s now officially the twenty-fifth if you celebrate Christmas.” The doctor smiles. “I have a few more rounds to get to so I’ll leave you both to talk over the events. We’ll keep you overnight just to make sure you’re doing alright.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” 

She excuses herself and he’s left alone again with his lover.  _ Husband _ .

“So, you come here often?” Sora winks. Roxas rolls his eyes and lets another tear fall.

“I was so scared. I thought that you might…” He trails off, horrible possibilities flooding through his head.

“I’m here.” he brings his other hand (with the heart monitor strapped to it) to cover Roxas’. “I’m alright.”

“That doesn’t make it ok!” His whisper echoes off the farthest cliffs. “You were right and I...I nearly stormed out. If I did that I wouldn’t have come back until the morning and no one would have found you until then.”

“You stayed?” Sora’s very happy to hear that. “What did you tell your boss?”

“Fuck him. I’m getting a new job right away.”

“At least wait until I’m out of the hospital! We need your insurance to cover this.” That gets a little smile out of him.

“After new years I’ll officially quit.” Roxas kisses his palm in promise.

“No two week notice?”

“I’ll send him a postcard from Italy.”

This news gets Sora rising with hope. Roxas’ other hand has to push him down before he sits up. “Venice? Are we still going?”

“Yeah, our stuff is still packed at home. The minute you’re cleared to leave I’ll grab the suitcases and we’ll skedaddle.”

Sora sighs contently. “That sounds absolutely lovely. Make sure Axel covers your ass until we’re on the plane.”

“Yes, dear.” Roxas leans forward to kiss his lips, finally. “Mind if I lie down with you and put on a bad Hallmark movie?”

“I think that sounds perfect.” 


End file.
